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CHAPTER 11
“Ow!” Carl laughed as the baby bird pecked at his head, grooming him. He was holding another little bird in his hand.
“Look at you,” Russell cooed at the babies, “you’re so soft.”
Kevin called out. She was at the entrance to the labyrinth—her home, where she would be safe.
Carl and Russell groaned. It was time to say goodbye. They set Kevin’s babies gently on the ground and watched as they streaked toward their mother.
“I wish I could keep one,” Russell said sadly.
One of the babies hissed at Dug. But Dug wasn’t offended. He had finally accepted that these birds simply didn’t want to be his prisoners.
Kevin cuddled her babies for a moment. Then she led them into the labyrinth. She turned back and squawked.
“Bye, Kevin.” Russell waved.
Then he and Carl headed back to the blimp.
“Ready?” Russell asked as he sat at the controls.
“Ready!” Carl grinned at his copilot as they took off into the sky.
Muntz’s dogs hung their heads through the open windows, enjoying the breeze. It turned out that they weren’t nearly as ferocious as Muntz had wanted them to be. Now that Carl was their master, they were just regular dogs.
They were all on their way home.
“And by receiving their badges, the following Explorers will graduate to Senior Explorers,” the campmaster announced. He stood at the front of the auditorium, along with the Wilderness Explorers and their fathers. “For Extreme Mountaineering Lore. Congratulations, Jimmy.” He handed the badge to Jimmy’s father, who beamed proudly.
“For Assisting the Elderly …” The campmaster looked up to find Russell and blinked.
Russell’s uniform was beat up, and his skin was tan from his time in South America. Unlike the other Wilderness Explorers at the ceremony, Russell had been on a real adventure.
“Russell, is your dad here for you?” the campmaster asked.
Russell peered out into the audience, where someone was making his way forward.
“Excuse me. Old man coming through.” Carl climbed onto the stage. “I’m here for him,” he told the campmaster.
The campmaster handed Carl the badge. “Congratulations, Russell,” he said. He moved on to the other Explorers.
Carl leaned down to pin something to Russell’s sash. “Russell, for assisting the elderly, and for performing above and beyond the call of duty, I would like to award you the highest honor I can bestow: the Ellie Badge.”
Russell looked down. Carl had given him Ellie’s grape-soda pin. “Wow.”
They saluted each other. Then Russell gave Carl a hug.
“All right, I think that covers everybody. So, let’s give a big Explorer Call to our brand-new Senior Wilderness Explorers!” the campmaster said.
The audience let out a wild “Caw-caw, rarr! Caw-caw, rarr!”
Dug and the other dogs howled in approval. And Carl grinned, knowing that he and his friends would have many more adventures together.
Russell and Carl sat on a curb outside Fenton’s. They were licking chocolate ice cream cones and watching cars go by.
“Blue one,” Russell said.
Carl squinted. “Red one.”
“Blue one.”
“Red one.”
“That’s a bike,” Russell protested.
“It’s red, isn’t it?” Carl demanded.
“Mr. Fredricksen, you’re cheating.”
“No, I’m not,” Carl insisted. “Red one.”
“That’s a fire hydrant.”
Carl licked his ice cream, chuckling. “Maybe I need new glasses.”
Russell looked up. The blimp was parked overhead. A single blue balloon floated up and away from them. “Another blue one,” he said.
Carl nodded. He wasn’t about to argue. After all, it was simply a game. And it was the simple things that he and Russell liked best.
(The End)